taken 7 years ago, near to Aberystwyth, Ceredigion/Sir Ceredigion, Great Britain

Aberystwyth Grits - faults and blowhole

The steeply dipping alternating sand- and mudstone strata near Craig-y-fulfran have developed a fault, visible as a crack entering and leaving the blowhole at its top and bottom corner. The strain accumulating near the fault favours erosion by waves at high tide. The resulting blow hole is large enough for an adult to scramble through it. Dog included for scale.

Annotated version of the photo indicating the location of the fault: Link . The fault is more easily identified in Link .

The coastal stretch north of Aberystwyth towards Clarach is known for its exposed turbidite beds Link and for their intricate folding and faulting patterns Link . The name of the site originates from a sea stack located on the foreshore (links above are to the Geological Conservation Review's site reports).

The Geological Conservation Review (GCR) is a database of geological reference sites in Great Britain. It is published by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) in the form of site reports collected in printed volumes covering different geological periods and topical areas such as fossils, minerals or geomorphology. The site reports are gradually put online in a searchable database Link .